


Home Sweet Home

by lahoera, prompom



Series: Stand By Me [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cor Leonis Adopts Prompto Argentum, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mentions of Homophobic Language, Minor Character Death, Parent Cor Leonis, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Protective Dad Cor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 09:42:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16532108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lahoera/pseuds/lahoera, https://archiveofourown.org/users/prompom/pseuds/prompom
Summary: Cor may or may not have ignored a direct order and gone into Niflheim. He has hoping to break into a military computer but instead his life is changed when he finds a small boy and his dying mother. (A Prequel to Freckles, Magic and Police Tape)





	Home Sweet Home

**Author's Note:**

> written by [prompom](pr0mp0m.tumblr.com)  
> Beta'd by [lahoera](xunstable.tumblr.com)

Cor knew it was dumb idea, but knowing that something was dumb had never stopped him before. He could hear the voice of Titus Drautos ringing through his head clearly, as if he was still right there next to him. “I’m sending you to the facility located at the border, under no circumstances are you to enter into Niflheim territory.” 

He trudged through the knee deep snow, leaving a clear trail from the border behind him. He didn’t have far to go, spotting a small outpost in the distance. From what he could make out it appeared to be a military outpost, since the Niflheim military controlled the police force the files he was looking for were probably stored on their computer system. If the outpost even have a computer system that is.

He had his gun ready in his hand, his katana on his belt. He wasn't going in unprepared. He slowly pushed open the door, cursing the rusty hinges, and peeked into the dim room. It appeared empty, so Cor took a few cautious steps forward. There was a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision, he spun around and pointed his gun in the direction the movement came from. 

It was a child, about two years old if Cor was to guess. He had a freckled face and dirty blonde hair. His big blue eyes stared at Cor in fright. “Hey kid,” he said in a soothing voice.

The kid squinted suspiciously at him before turning and taking off deeper into the facility., Cor swore under his breath and quickly followed after the young boy. He ran as quietly as he could down a darkened hallway, finding one door left ajar. Cor nudged the door open with the tip of his gun. He found the child sat on the floor next to a woman who appeared to be gravely injured. She was covered in blood and her breathing was ragged. As Cor approached them, she cracked one eye open and flinched, scrambling to gather the small child in her frail arms. 

“Hey hey hey, I'm not going to hurt you,” Cor assured, returning his gun to its holster and slowly edging closer to them. “I can help you,”

“It's too late for me,” she said. Her voice was strained.

“There's a facility just over the border, we have good medical supplies there,”

She weakly shook her head. “I'll only slow you down. They'll find us. Are you a Lucian?”

“Yes.” Cor confirmed, crouching down next to the woman.

“Please, take my son,” she said as he pushed the boy gently towards Cor. “His name is Prompto Argentum. He's a good boy. Please.”

“I can help you too,” 

There was a faint sound outside, Cor thought it might have been a helicopter. The woman groaned, pushing the child towards him with slight urgency. “They're here, please take him.”

Cor hesitated for a second then picked the boy up, opening his jacket and tucking him inside. It was bitterly cold outside and the child wasn’t dressed appropriately, The young boy began to cry as Cor turned away from his mother. “Please, promise me you’ll look after my son.” The woman pleaded.

Cor turned his head and regarded her with sad eyes. “I’ll keep him safe, I promise.”

The woman sighed with relief, tears welling up in her eyes before she slumped over into the puddle of blood that was slowly growing around her. 

Cor gently patted the child's head as he ran, the crying soon turning into sniffles and he grabbed onto Cor’s shirt tightly. As Cor exited the facility, he spotted a magitek airship hovering overhead, allowing the troopers to jump out. Cor didn’t know what that woman had done, but it surely must’ve been bad if an entire squad had been sent out after her.

Cor cursed as one of the troopers spotted him. It bent at an unnatural angle and started to shoot at him. Cor ran faster, trying not to jostle the boy too much. He wasn't going to get in a firefight with a child in his arms. The other troopers soon joined in the assault, being drawn by the sound of gunfire. 

It was difficult to move in the snow and the troopers were taking full advantage. They couldn't kill a Lucian citizen, but they could injure him. Cor felt something hit his leg, but he was pretty numb from the cold and the adrenaline coursing through his body made him keep moving. 

The troopers gave up chase as Cor neared the base that signalled the start of the Lucian border. As he neared the entrance to the building, he cringed as he noticed Titus was standing at the open door with an angry expression painted on his face. He was the last person he has expected to see here, he was supposed to still be at headquarters in Insomnia. “Leonis! What do you think you’re doing!?” Drautos yelled furiously.

Cor stopped, his leg starting to throb in pain. He swayed a few times before falling backwards into the snow, making sure he held tightly onto the child swaddled in the layers of his jacket. At the sound of the child crying, Titus ran over to them. “Cor, why the hell have you got a child?” He gave them a quick once over, noticing the the snow around Cor has begun to turn red. “Astrals, have you been shot?”

Cor grimaced as he looked down at his leg and the blood stained snow. “Please, take Prompto inside, he must be freezing.” Cor pleaded, fumbling to free the child.

 

“Cor, what's going on?” Titus repeated.

Cor couldn't reply, his vision was going black. He was barely aware of Prompto’s tightening grip when he closed his eyes and succumbed to unconsciousness. 

 

—

 

When Cor opened his eyes, he saw that he was laying in a hospital bed. It took a few moments for his memory of the events prior to his blackout to return to him in flashes; sneaking into Niflheim, finding the base, Prompto. With a gasp, Cor tried to get up, a strange sensation making him struggle.

Titus walked in as Cor fell back onto his pillow in defeat. “Thank the Gods you’re awake Cor, I thought you was going to die on me.”

Cor furrowed his brows in confusion. “Why would I die?” He questioned.

Titus grimaced. “Don't freak out Leonis, but that was no ordinary bullet that hit your leg.”

Cor looked down and saw that where his left leg had once been was now nothing but a stump that ended above where he knee used to be. He couldn’t bring himself to utter a word. 

“It was enchanted, exploded on impact,” Titus explained quietly. 

Cor stared at his leg for a few silent moments before remembering the young boy he had been carrying. “What of the boy? Is Prompto okay?” 

“That kid?” Titus asked. Cor nodded in confirmation. “He was pretty sick when he got here, but I think he's doing better now.”

“How long have I been unconscious?” Cor asked.

“You’ve been out for nearly three weeks.”

Cor’s eyes widened in shock. He felt numb. “I want to see him.”

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Titus said gruffly. “He's quite traumatised and unresponsive, and you’ve only just woken up.”

“If you don’t help me, I’ll crawl there. I swear I will.” Cor growled.

“Astrals Cor, can you not be so stubborn for once in your life?” Titus sighed, but left to get a nurse all the same.

When he returned with the nurse, they both helped Cor into a wheelchair. “Where are we?” Cor asked as Titus wheeled him towards the children’s ward.

“Back in Insomnia, we moved you both as soon as you were stable.” Cor hummed in understanding.

They soon reached a door and Titus leaned forward to push it open when Cor stopped him, taking a glance through the window to see. Prompto had a room to himself, a woman was sat by the bed reading a book to the young boy as he listened intently. Cor sat and watched the through the window of the door for a while, and was about to quietly ask Titus to take him back to his room when Prompto looked up and spotted him. His face broke into a toothy grin and he waved a small hand. Cor waved back.

The woman who was reading put the book down and walked out to meet Cor, “Do you want to come in?” she asked.

Cor hesitated. “Is it a good idea?”

“That's the first time I've seen him smile,” she insisted.

Titus handed the chair off to the woman and she steered Cor into the room. She parked him next to Prompto's bed and walked back out, leaving the two alone and watching them from the window.

“Are you okay?” Cor asked, feeling stupid for asking such a question to a toddler.

Prompto nodded. He pointed to Cor's leg, “Owie?”

“Yeah.” Cor replied.

Prompto shuffled to the edge of the bed and leaned forward to plant a kiss on Cor’s forehead. “Better?”

Cor felt his eyes well up at the loving gesture. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen. “Thanks,” he choked out.

Prompto climbed carefully onto Cor’s lap and held onto his hospital gown tightly. “Story please,” he asked, giving Cor his best puppy dog eyes.

Cor reached forward carefully, holding Prompto with one hand to stop him from sliding off his lap, and grabbed the closest book. Prompto started to suck his thumb as he listened to Cor read, making small noises as he reacted to the story. After a while, the noises ceased and Prompto went quiet. Cor looked down at him and saw that the boy had fallen asleep, thumb still in his mouth. Cor noticed something dark peeking around the side of the boys wrist that was still clutching his hospital gown. Gently, he pried the sleeping child’s hand away and turned it over, seeing what appeared to be a barcode freshly tattooed into his pale skin. 

He released Prompto’s hand with a sad sigh and gently ran his fingers through his hair, which was now washed and a little fluffy. After a few silent moments, the woman who had been watching them quietly returned to the room and approached Cor and the sleeping child. “I’m Clara Stevens,” she began, “I've been looking after Prompto. I think he remembers that it was you who saved him.” 

“Does anyone know what happened to his mother?”

Clara shook her head sadly. Cor nodded in understanding. She was most likely dead, leaving Prompto all alone, like him. He tightened his grip on the small boy.

“You know you're the only person who's been able to hold him without him throwing a fit. And you're the only person he's spoken too. We thought he might’ve been mute.”

“He only said four words,” Cor said.

“Four more words than he's spoken in nearly three weeks.”

 

—

 

Everyday during his recovery, Cor went back to visit Prompto. He had began speaking more and more after every visit, though it was only to Cor and when no one else was around to hear. When it came to Cor leaving, Prompto normally cried, and the sound broke Cor's heart.

One day, Cor’s friend Dustin had come to visit. Together they went to Prompto’s room to check on the boy. He wouldn’t speak a single word in front of Dustin, but he listened intently to the words of the story that Cor was reading to him. Eventually, he fell asleep during one of the many princess tales Cor tended to read. “You two are good for eachother,” Dustin commented as Cor closed the book with a fond smile on his face. “I never thought of you as a father type Cor.”

“I didn't either,” Cor admitted. “But I like him, he's a sweet kid.”

“You know you could adopt him.” Dustin suggested.

Cor was going to say he didn't want to, but he did. He really did. “Do you think I could?”

“I'll help you.”

_

 

The process of adopting Prompto was surprisingly easy. Clara was a social worker and helped out a lot during the process. She had said the adoption went through quickly because everyone could see how good Cor was with him, and how much the boy was attached to him. Personally, Clara also thought that the two boys needed each other. Afterall, Cor had lost his leg saving Prompto’s life. 

Whilst the two were preparing to leave the hospital, Dustin had gotten a bed for Prompto and set it up in Cor’s apartment. Cor would take Prompto out to get some stuff to help him feel at home in a few days, though he wasn’t at all looking forward to taking a toddler out whilst on crutches.

It was strange returning to his apartment after everything that had happened and it was even stranger to be returning with a child in tow. Prompto was holding onto Cor’s crutch. He looked up at Cor, his big blue eyes shining with curiosity. 

“This is your home now buddy.” Cor said with a smile.

“Our home?” Prompto’s head tilted slightly with the question.

“Yes, our home.”

Prompto’s eyes lit up with happiness and his lips spread into a wide smile.

The rest of the day was spent by Cor showing Prompto around his new home, and by the time it got to put Prompto to bed, Cor couldn't stand him being out of his sight. He lifted Prompto into the bed with him, “Don't get used to this,” he warned him.

Prompto quickly settled under the covers and looked at Cor expectantly. Cor sighed and grabbed a book. 

When Cor awoke in the morning, Prompto was clutching onto Cor's arm tightly. His thumb was in his mouth, but his mouth was wide open as he breathed deeply. Cor gave a contented sigh and realised adopting this child was the best thing he had ever done.

He gave Prompto another day to settle in before taking him furniture shopping. He had instructed the toddler to hold onto his left crutch at all times and he had nodded with a serious look on his face. Cor had found a small scrap of fabric and tied it around the barcode on his wrist. He was sure people wouldn’t react well to seeing a tattooed toddler, and he especially didn’t want to deal with any of the accusatory looks he surely would’ve gotten.

Luckily, Cor lived in the city centre and it wasn't too far to the closest furniture store. Cor picked out a generic children's set of furniture, minus the bed, and had let Prompto choose the bedding he wanted. Naturally, he chose the most garish pink and green striped set. Cor was getting ready to pay when he noticed Prompto was staring at a display of stuffed animals. 

Cor lead him over and Prompto looked up at him questioningly. “Go on, choose one.”

Prompto immediately picked up a bright yellow chocobo, it looked small to Cor but seemed huge in Prompto's arms. “What this?”

“That's a chocobo.” Cor explained.

“Chocobo,” Prompto repeated quietly, looking at the toy with a focused expression. He held it up to Cor, “Please.”

Cor went to put the toy in the basket but Prompto turned away, shaking his head. “Do you want to hold him?” Cor asked.

“Yes.” Prompto answered.

Prompto seemed reluctant to hand the toy over to the cashier and it took a lot of convincing on Cor's part to assure him that she wasn't planning on stealing it.

 

It took a while for them to settle into a routine. In the morning, Cor would wake Prompto and they would eat breakfast together. Then they would get dressed and watch the TV for a little while until Cor had to leave to go to physiotherapy. Prompto would come along and sit quietly on a chair with his chocobo plush and a picture book. After, they would go home and eat lunch. Then they would either go to the park or library, normally the library because Prompto liked the books more than he did other children.

Everyone who worked in the library loved Prompto, and Prompto loved to ask questions. Why was the sky blue? Why did it rain? How far away were the stars? What did chocobos eat? Cor knew he needed to get a computer quickly because all this researching was tiring him out. He wasn't sure how much was going into the toddlers brain when he read from a book about astrology or weather cycles, but he listened intently and followed the words on the page with his eyes. 

At one point, Prompto must have gotten frustrated with the pace Cor was reading at, because he took the book out of Cor's hands and sat on the floor next to him. Cor watched him as he run a pudgy finger along the page. “Can you read that?” Cor asked.

“Using - these - gifts - for - the - good - of - all - she - became - the - first - Oracle.” he read slowly, stumbling over a few words.

Cor wasn't convinced. He had just read that part and Prompto might have just simply remembered. He took the book back and skipped a few pages. He pointed to another section. “Try this.”

Prompto scrunched up his face as he concentrated, “One - of - his - powers - was - Arm-ar-armiger - the - ability - to - conjure - weapons - made - of - light - that - let - him - fight - the - darkness.”

Okay, so the kid could read. “When did you learn to do that?”

He shrugged. “Dunno.”

“Huh…” Cor grunted. “Hey, how old are you?”

Cor had no idea how old Prompto was, he thought he was about two or three but surely that was too early to be reading at this level. Prompto held up two fingers and one bent pinky. Two and a half. Cor nodded, impressed that a child so young was able to read so well.

After an hour, Cor asked “Hey Prom, do you want to take any books home?”

Prompto nodded eagerly and held out the cosmogony book he was reading.

“C'mon, we'll go together.” Cor said as he held out his hand. Prompto held Cor's hand tightly with one hand and he clutched the book with the other. Cor leaned heavily on the crutch on his right side, it was the first time he had been out with one crutch and his body wasn't used to it.

“Hello there.” the librarian cooed when she spotted Prompto.

He smiled shyly and held out the book, “Please.”

Cor swapped the crutch into his other hand and pulled out his library card. He gave it to Prompto, who then passed it to the librarian. He struggled to reach over the desk because he was so small but he was determined. 

She accepted the card with a smile and scanned the book for him. “There you go.” she said as she passed it back. 

“Thank you.” Prompto mumbled as he clutched the book to his chest.

“You're very welcome.” the librarian smiled. She handed Cor his card back and he tucked it into his pocket.

“C'mon Prom.” Cor said, he held Prompto's hand and lead him out of the library.

It wasn't a long walk back to their apartment, but Cor's arm was aching terribly when they got back. It didn't seem so bad on the way there. He locked the door behind them and collapsed on the sofa with an exhausted sigh.

He flexed his hand and tried to get the feeling back into it. He checked his palm, which was starting to bruise. He couldn't wait to get his more functional prosthetic fitted.

Prompto climbed onto the sofa next to him and cuddled into Cor's side. Cor wrapped an arm around him. “You doing okay?”

Prompto yawned, “Sleepy.”

“Go to sleep then.” Cor said.

“Don't wanna.”

“Okay.” Cor said, knowing it was pointless to argue. Prompto would soon fall asleep if he was tired.

“Love you, Daddy.” Prompto mumbled as his eyes dropped closed.

“Love you too Prom” Cor whispered, eyes filling up with tears. Prompto had never called him Daddy before.

 

_

 

Before he knew it, Prompto was five and was about to start school for the first time. Cor was more nervous than Prompto was. He had barely been out of sight for three years and now they were going to be apart for an entire day.

“Okay Prom, have a good day.” Cor said.

Prompto looked at him, he had grown a little taller but he still had chubby, freckled cheeks and big blue eyes. “Will you be okay?” He asked, concerned that Cor would struggle without him. They had developed a dynamic which consisted of Prompto rushing to help whenever Cor struggled to adapt to some of the features of his newly designed prosthetic.

“Yeah, I'll be fine.” Cor chuckled quietly. He bent down and hugged Prompto tightly. “I'll be back at three o’clock.”

Prompto hugged him back, “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Cor sighed as he watched Prompto walk inside the building. When Prompto’s form was cut off from view by the closed door, he suddenly became aware of the other parents around him. He was the only dad. All the mother’s eyes were on him, and he suddenly became self-conscious of his limp.

He tried to walk past them as quickly as he could, but one woman beckoned him over. With a grimace, Cor limped towards the group of mothers.

“Your son is so adorable, what's his name?” One of the women asked.

“Oh, Prompto.” Cor replied.

“Wish my son was that sweet.” Another grumbled.

“Yeah, he's a good kid.” Cor agreed, his chest swelling with pride.

“Where's his mother? If you don't mind me asking.” 

“She died.” Cor answered bluntly, leaving no room for further questions. There was no way he could tell them about how he had disobeyed direct orders from his superior and illegally crossed the Niflheim border where he’d found Prompto and been asked to take care of him by the dying breaths of a woman.

“That must be so hard on both of you. If you need anything, we'll be more than happy to help.” A woman sporting a cropped blonde hairstyle spoke, the rest of the group nodding in agreement.

“Ah no, we're fine.” Cor assured quickly. He had also avoided to mention he had only known Prompto’s mother for less than five minutes.

The first woman patted his arm sympathetically. 

Cor said his goodbyes and quickly made his way back to their empty apartment. It was going to be a long day without Prompto.

He pottered around the apartment, doing menial chores and watching daytime TV until it was time to pick up Prompto. He hadn't felt this apprehensive in a long time. He hoped Prompto had a good day.

All the kids ran out at the same time in mass chaos, but Cor couldn't spot Prompto anywhere. He panicked until he saw Prompto hanging back with the teacher. Cor walked over quickly. Prompto couldn't possibly be in trouble, could he? He was possibly the best behaved five year old in the world.

As soon as he was there, Prompto gave him a hug. “Hey Prom, what's going on?”

“I'm Miss. Jenkins, Prompto’s teacher. Can we chat inside?” his teacher asked.

“Yeah sure...” Cor trailed off, confused.

She lead them into what Cor assumed was Prompto's classroom. All the furniture was ridiculously tiny. 

“Don't worry, Prompto isn't in trouble.” Miss. Jenkins said with a warm smile. “I was just wondering if Prompto has ever been tested for anything?”

“Uh, what do you mean?” Cor asked defensively. He couldn't help but feel a little offended. Prompto was a perfect child.

“He’s extremely advanced for his age, and he doesn't seem to connect with other children well.” The teacher explained. 

Cor rubbed the back of his neck. “He's never been around other children before. He's only been around adults.” He admitted.

“He's highly intelligent, it might be worth him skipping this school year altogether and going into a more advanced classroom.”

“Skipping?” Cor asked. “If he's finding hard to make friends now, won't it be worse if he's in a class with older children?”

“We don't have to make a decision yet. I would recommend, however, getting him tested to see what level he is at.”

“Okay,” Cor agreed. “But I need to ask him about this too.”

“Yes of course, whatever you need.”

Prompto was silent on the walk home. When they got in, he turned to Cor. “Am I in trouble?” he asked, eyes swimming with unshed tears.

“No! Of course not Prom-pom.” Cor said, using the endearing nickname he had given him to let him know he wasn’t in trouble as he lifted the boy up and hugged him tightly.

After a while, Prompto spoke again. “I don't like the other kids. They're too loud.”

“That's fine, we don't have to like everybody.” Cor said as he sat down, bringing Prompto to rest in his lap. “But it’s important that we try to be nice to them.”

Prompto stared at him for a moment, taking in Cor’s words. “What did Miss. Jenkins want?”

“She said you might be too clever for her class.”

Prompto nodded in understanding. “Some of the other kids can't read yet.”

It was a little unnerving to Cor that Prompto was referring to his classmates as the kids when they were the same age. “They're gonna give you a test and see what class is the best fit for you, they might even move you up to learn with the bigger kids.”

“Okay.” he replied, nonchalant. He climbed off Cor's lap. “Can I have a snack?”

“Sure.” Cor chuckled.

 

Miss. Jenkins has booked Prompto's tests to be taken in the school on the next Monday, but it was clear Prompto was extremely bored in her class, because he started to act up. It wasn't major behavioral issues, but he didn't want to do any of the tasks he was given by the teacher and had started to cry a lot because he was frustrated.

On the Thursday before Prompto's tests, he got a call from the school to pick Prompto up because he was very upset and couldn't be calmed down.

Cor had never moved so fast in his life. His son was upset and he wasn't there. He would have ran if his prosthetic allowed it. He made a decision to grab Prompto's favourite chocobo plush before he headed out the door.

When he got to the school, he was lead to the head teachers office. Prompto was sobbing in a chair as the headteacher tried to comfort him. Cor quickly rushed over and gathered Prompto in his arms. “Hey Prom-pom I'm here, it’s okay.” He soothed.

“Daaaaaddy…” Prompto wailed, clutching onto his shirt tightly and burying his face into his chest.

“Why is he so upset?” Cor demanded. He had never been so annoyed in his entire life. He had never seen Prompto in such a state before.

“We don't know, he won't tell us.” the headteacher said helplessly.

Cor passed Prompto his chocobo and he buried his face in it. Eventually, Prompto’s sobs turned to sniffles. “Are you ready to tell us what happened?” Cor asked gently.

“Bethany and Olivia were being mean.” he sniffled.

The head teacher knelt on the floor next to Prompto and Cor. “Can you tell me what they done that was mean?”

“Olivia called me a nerd and a crybaby then Bethany pushed me down and hit me.” he replied quietly, his small body trembling.

Cor’s lips tightened into an angry line.

“Okay, we'll get Bethany and Olivia in here and ask them what happened.”

“Why do we need to ask them? Isn't it kind of obvious they’ve done something? He wouldn't be this upset for no reason.” Cor said, barley keeping his anger in check.

“I want to see if they admit it, and it’s important to hear both sides of the story.”

The headteacher told Cor to wait with Prompto in the reception area. When the two girls walked past, Cor couldn't help but glare at them.

He called them back in a few minutes later. Cor’s annoyance grew tenfold when he saw that both girls appeared unfazed and he was asked to put Prompto down.

Prompto clutched Cor's trouser leg in one hand and his chocobo in the other. His face was still red from crying. “Okay girls, have you got something to say to Prompto?”

“It's not our fault! He was showing off that he could read!” one of the girls exclaimed.

“I wasn't!” Prompto insisted, “I asked if you wanted me to read you a story! I was trying to be nice.”

“Prompto, can you see why this might have upset the girls?”

Prompto shook his head, Cor couldn't help but interrupt. “Hold on a second, I’m sorry but I don’t see how any of this is even remotely Prompto’s fault.”

“Mr. Leonis, I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you can't keep quiet.”

Cor bit his lip so hard he could taste blood.

“It made them feel bad Prompto because it seemed like you were showing off that you could read and they couldn't.”

“But… I was just trying to be kind!” Prompto insisted, eyes welling up with tears again.

“Mhm,” one of the girls replied, rolling her eyes. “Showing off more like it.”

Cor was starting to wonder if he could get away with strangling this bratty child when the headteacher interrupted his hostile thoughts. “However, there was no need to call Prompto names though or to push and hit him.” He told the girls.

“He is a crybaby though, he's even crying now!”

 _I'll make you cry in a minute_ , Cor thought savagely, sending a death glare in the kids direction.

“It's still not nice to call people a crybaby. I want you both to apologize and then you will all shake hands.”

They both mumbled a pathetic “Sorry Prompto,” taking turns to shake the boys hand before they were both ushered out of the room. Prompto scrunched up his nose in disgust, Bethany’s hand was all sweaty and sticky.

As soon as they left, Cor spun to face the headteacher. “I am not satisfied with the way that was handled. They were bullying my son and he got reprimanded for being kind?”

“Look, Mr. Leonis, these children are five years old. Spats happen between children.”

“This wasn't a spat, it was bullying!. They ganged up on him!”

“Mr. Leonis, please, it's been dealt with, take Prompto home for the rest of the day and bring him back in tomorrow.”

Cor shook his head, “He's not coming in until his test on Monday and I'm making sure he's going into another classroom then.”

He picked up Prompto, who had been silently watching the angry exchange, and walked out of the school. It wasn't until they got home that Cor put him down. “Are you okay?” he asked gently.

“Was- was I being a show off?” Prompto sniffed.

“No, you were being nice. You like stories being read to you so you thought you'd do the same for those girls.”

Prompto nodded his head. “Why are people so mean?”

Cor kissed him on the top of his head. “Some people are. Most people aren't though, you just have to deal with a few bad eggs before you find the right people.”

Prompto stifled a giggle behind his hand. ‘Bethany smells like bad eggs’ he thought to himself.

 

Cor wants sure if it would be a blessing or a curse when Prompto was placed in a class with the nine and ten year olds, but it turned out to be a blessing. Prompto was thriving with the older children, and rather than being bullied like Cor had feared he would, he was getting along with all of them. They seemed to all feel a fierce protectiveness over the youngest member of their class.

He was even more surprised when Prompto's sixth birthday came around and he wanted his best friend to come over for dinner. Cor wasn't even aware he had a best friend.

“Her name is Maddie. She's tall and nice and keeps the mean kids away!” Prompto gushed.

Cor said he would buy them food and they could watch a movie for Prompto's birthday and he seemed to nearly vibrate with excitement.

Cor asked Prompto to make a party invite, mostly so Maddie's parents had the party details. The entire thing was basically made out of glitter; Prompto insisted that Maddie’s favourite thing in the whole word was glitter - and Cor got himself covered in it when he added the details. He grumbled. He was going to be getting glitter out the carpet for months.

Maddie's mother RSVP'd the next day and Cor had to start tidying the apartment. It wasn't that they were messy, it was just they weren't great as tidying up after themselves. And there was still glitter embedded in the carpet.

It turned out that Prompto was right; Maddie was tall for a nine year old. She reached to just above Cor’s elbow. She had big hazel eyes and long caramel hair. Her mother from the car as she drove off. 

Prompto was so excited to see her. She let Prompto hang off her arms as he chatted to her. His eyes lit up as she chatted back about the latest episode of the show she had been watching at home. Cor let them talk while he finished the food off, she seemed like a sweet girl and Cor was grateful she was nice to Prompto. 

_

 

They moved into an actual house when Prompto was eight, and the extra space did a lot for them. School was good for Prompto until he got to the age of thirteen. He had grown into a big kid, but lost weight when he started to go running. However, all the other kids in his class had already been through puberty when it started for him. He seemed to grow nearly overnight and was almost the same height as Cor. He had no idea how it happened. He was self-conscious about a million different things and Cor was struggling to keep up.

The rest of his classmates were aged between sixteen and seventeen, and the boys were getting girlfriends, fooling around, doing drugs and drinking. It took Cor a while to realise Prompto was feeling inadequate. He should have expected it, really, with Prompto being in a class with older children but it still upset him to see his son hurting.

Cor was sat knitting a Prompto another sweater; a hobby he had taken up out of boredomA after being forced to quit his job due to his leg injury, when Prompto came down from upstairs. Cor always felt it was best to let Prompto come to him when he was ready, and to not push an issue. It helped them build trust between each other, and Cor knew something was bothering Prompto. He had been eerily quiet for a few weeks now and had been avoiding eye contact.

“Dad, can I talk to you please?”

Cor set his knitting aside and took his glasses off. “Of course you can Prom.”

Prompto was fidgeting with the sweatband he used to hide his barcode tattoo, he only did that when he was nervous. “Whatever it is Prom, it's okay.” Cor reassured him.

“I'm gay.” he blurted quickly, not looking at Cor.

Cor was surprised, but not shocked. He had noticed that Prompto showed no interest in girls that much, but he’d just assumed that was down to his shy personality and young age. Now, he knew the real reason. “Okay, thank you for telling me.” Cor said calmly, putting his glasses back on and resuming his knitting.

Prompto’s head shot up to look at Cor with widened eyes. “You aren't mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” Cor chuckled.

Prompto shrugged. “Some parents get mad. Especially the Dad's.”

“I'm happy you told me,” Cor told him. “I could never be angry at you for telling me the truth.”

“There's something else too...” Prompto added.

Cor put his knitting back down and stared at Prompto over his glasses. “Do tell.”

“Some of the boys at school found out… and they aren't being very nice.”

Cor took his glasses off. Now he was annoyed. “Explain.”

“They call me a faggot.” Prompto mumbled.

“I'm going to the school tomorrow.” Cor said, trying to not let Prompto see how annoyed he was, and failing. 

“Dad, please don’t!” Prompto begged. “It'll make it worse.”

“I'm not having anyone being homophobic to my son,” Cor said, but relented when he saw how desperate Prompto looked. “Please say these kids are eighteen so I can fight them at least.”

“No Dad, I think they're sixteen.” Prompto chuckled. He dropped onto the sofa next to Cor, who wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. Prompto snuggled into his side like he used to do when he was little. “Thanks, Dad.”

“For what?”

“For being the best.”

A week later, Cor got a phone call from Prompto's school. He had fallen and needed to go to the hospital. Cor cursed under his breath when he hung up, he knew it had something to do with those kids who were bothering him.

When Cor got there, it was obvious Prompto hadn't fallen; he had been beaten up. His face was bruised and swollen and he had clear fingerprint shaped bruises on his arms. “He clearly hasn't fallen.” Cor said angrily.

“That's what he told us, and we can't do anything unless he tells the truth.” the principal said.

“C'mon Prom, just tell us the truth,” Cor sighed. “Was it those kids who were calling you names?”

Prompto stubbornly looked ahead, not meeting his eyes.

“Please Prompto, we want to help you,” the principal insisted, “Especially if you're being bullied.”

“I don't know their names.” Prompto said.

“Okay, if you tell us where you were we can check the CCTV.” 

“They dragged me into the locker rooms.” Prompto mumbled. The principle nodded in acknowledgement.

“Before you go, your father mentioned that they call you names. I would like to know what they say.” the principal said gently.

Prompto hesitated and glanced at Cor, who nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. “They call me fag...” 

The principal’s mouth tightened. “We won't tolerate this behaviour. You can go and I guarantee we will deal with this.” 

After thanking the principal, Cor lead Prompto out to the car which had been specially designed to work with Cor's prosthetic. Cor leaned over the seat and hugged Prompto tightly.

“It's okay now.”

_

 

Prompto was sixteen when he was ready to graduate, and Cor was proud of him. Despite being the youngest in his class, he was able to graduate early with the best grades, Their plan was for him to do an online university course for two years, then actually go to a university. Cor wasn't surprised when he got a call to go into the school a week before graduation, he assumed Prompto was going to get some special award.

What he wasn't expecting, however, was to find Prompto in the principal's office looking like he was in trouble. “What's going on?” Cor asked.

“It's come to our attention that Prompto has been… I don't know how to put this… struggling.” The principal replied slowly.

“Struggling? But his grades are perfect...” Cor glanced back and forth between Prompto and the principal, confusion clearly written on his face.

“Not with schoolwork, with mental health issues.” 

Cor’s head snapped towards Prompto, who was staring intently at the floor. “Prom? Why didn't you talk to me?”

“I didn't want you to worry.” Prompto murmured quietly, not taking his eyes off the floor.

“What's going on?” Cor asked again, starting to feel scared. 

The principal got out of his chair. “I'll leave you two alone to let Prompto explain.” he said, closing the door behind him.

“Please Prom, what's wrong?” Cor asked desperately. 

Prompto started to cry. “I'm sorry Dad.” 

He pulled off his jumper. Cor saw there was fresh blood speckled on it. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on when Prompto started to slowly unbutton his school shirt and Cor's stomach dropped. His entire stomach was covered in cuts. They varied in size and depth. The largest one, just below his rib cage, was bleeding through the plasters he had tried to stick on it. 

Cor sank to the floor next to Prompto’s chair in despair. How could he have not had noticed that this sweet boy was so miserable? “I'm so sorry Prompto. I should have noticed. I'm so sorry.” He cried.

Prompto dropped next to him and grabbed his father's hand to comfort him. “I should be the ones who's sorry. I lied to you. I told you time and time again that I was fine because I didn't want to admit that I wasn't.”

Cor cupped Prompto's face in his hands. “Please explain.”

Prompto was shaking. “I've felt so numb. Nothing I was doing felt like anything. I wanted to talk to you but I didn't know how to put it. It was the only way I could feel something, and it scared me so much. I didn't want you to know.”

Cor hugged Prompto so tightly he was a little scared he would break him. After a few moments, he leaned back and let out an exhausted sigh. “Okay, we'll deal with this.” he said. He took off his jumper and handed it to Prompto who quickly pulled it on.

The principal came back in, “I'm sorry to interrupt, but the councillor is here.”

Cor helped Prompto to his feet and put a comforting arm around his shoulders. There was no doubt Prompto would need to go to hospital, one of the cuts looked like it needed stitches. The councillor wasn't sure, however, if he would need a psychological evaluation. Cor privately thought he would.

Guilt was gnawing at his gut when he took Prompto to the hospital in a taxi. He should have noticed how down Prompto was before, looking back it was obvious. 

Prompto had pulled up the hood of Cor's jumper and disappeared into the darkness. Cor could hear him sniffling every so often, but didn't want to say anything in front of the taxi driver.

Luckily, the doctor said Prompto could recover at home as long as he went to therapy starting as soon as possible. They managed to get Prompto an emergency appointment for the next day. He also did need stitches in his last cut, five to be exact.

When they got home, Cor hugged Prompto again. He grabbed onto Cor's shirt tightly, not wanting to let go. “I'm so sorry.” Prompto murmured.

“I’m sorry too.” 

“You don't need to be sorry Dad. I didn’t want you to know so I tried my hardest to hide it from you, there’s no way you could’ve known,” Prompto sighed. “All I do is make you worry.” He added with a sniffle.

“That isn't true at all!” Cor cried, “I'm so proud of you Prom. I just wish you talked to me about how you felt.”

“I'll do better.” Prompto replied, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of Cor’s jumper.

Cor pulled back and ruffled his hair. “You hungry?”

“Not really.”

“C'mon, we'll go to bed. We can share again, just like when you were a kid.”

Prompto smiled a little, “Yeah, that'll be nice.”

 

_

 

It took a while to get Prompto's medications right, but when they did he was nearly back to his old self. For his eighteenth birthday, Cor got him a camera. He went into the photography store and got the one Prompto had been talking about for months. His therapist had recommended he took up a hobby that wasn't related to his degrees, so he had started to take photos. Currently, he was using Cor's old camera but that was about to change.

He passed the gift over, it was poorly wrapped but that was nothing new. Cor was terrible at wrapping presents. Prompto inspected the gift curiously, it had a lot of weight and was quite heavy. He carefully unwrapped it and gasped.

“Thanks Dad!” he dashed forward and grabbed Cor in a bone crushing embrace.

“There's a tripod too, but I had no idea how to wrap that.” Cor told him. 

“You're the best!” Prompto exclaimed with wide grin.

Cor smiled. It was nice to see him so happy again.

Prompto pulled the camera out and fiddled with a few settings, then flung an arm around Cor’s shoulders. “Smile!”

Cor barely had time to react before Prompto took a photo of both of them together. He flipped the camera around and showed Cor the photo on the screen. “You'll have to print that out for me.” Cor said. He was no good with anything to do with no photography, and had no clue how to print photos.

“Of course.” Prompto nodded. 

“I'm just happy to see you smiling again.” Cor told him softly.

“I'm feeling a lot better now.” Prompto said with a smile.

 

_

 

Prompto had left university with two doctorates, which he did at the same time despite having many stress related breakdowns, and was now struggling to find a job.

Cor got in touch with Titus. He knew Titus was now working in the Lucian Bureau of Investigation and Prompto did have a doctorate in criminology. 

When he replied saying they would give Prompto an interview, Cor had to work out how to tell Prompto without it looking like he had interfered.

“Hey Prom,” he called out.

“Yeah Dad?” Prompto replied.

“C’mere for a sec.”

Prompto walked in. Gone were the gangly limbs he had during his youth, now he was slightly more muscular due to his small gym addiction. Cor sometimes couldn't believe that this was the same child he had smuggled over from Niflheim all those years ago. “I’ve been talking to my old captain, Titus, and he mentioned their looking for new detectives in the LBI. I hope you don't mind, I sent your details to him and he's interested in interviewing you.”

“Thanks, Dad!” Prompto grinned, “That sounds so cool.” He turned to retreat back to his room.

Cor watched his Prompto go with pride shining in his eyes. He was so proud. He couldn’t wait to see Prompto continue to grow into the kind young man he was becoming, and he was surely succeed at this new job he would no doubt get. 

With a happy hum, Cor turned back to his knitting, he had to make a sweater ready for his sons first day at his new job.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel to [Freckles, Magic and Police Tape](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15782850/chapters/36720600). Please read that of you enjoyed this!


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